Prevalence of obesity in British children born in 1946 and 1958.

Peckham, Catherine; Stark, O; Simonite, Vanessa; Wolff, O. H.

doi:10.1136/bmj.286.6373.1237

Cited by 64 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…This is consistent with many previous studies 6,22 and with recent studies of British children. 23,24 By early adulthood a social gradient had emerged, with increasing risk of obesity from professional/ managerial to unskilled manual classes.…”

Section: Social Conditions In Childhoodsupporting

confidence: 82%

Child to adult socioeconomic conditions and obesity in a national cohort

2003

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OBJECTIVE: Critical stages in childhood are suspected for adult obesity. We sought to identify (i) whether risk of adult obesity is influenced by childhood socioeconomic conditions in addition to those in adulthood; and (ii) whether conditions in childhood act independently or through their association with education or parental obesity. DESIGN: Longitudinal, 1958 British birth cohort. SUBJECTS: A total of 11 405 men and women followed to age 33 y. MEASUREMENTS: Social class at birth and ages 7, 11, 16, 23 and 33 y. Obesity (BMIX30) at age 33 y. RESULTS: Social class was related to obesity, cross-sectionally at ages 16 (women), 23 and 33 y, but not at younger ages. In analysis of adult obesity (age 33 y) and social class at five life stages, class at age 7 y significantly predicted obesity for women (adjusted odds ratio (OR) ¼ 1.31, that is, the odds increased by 31% for each decrease in social class). For men, class at birth and age 23 y predicted adult obesity (adjusted OR ¼ 1.19 and 1.16, respectively). Education was also associated with adult obesity, increasing the odds by 30% (men) and 35% (women) for each decrease in qualification level. Adjustment for education level and parental BMI did not abolish the effect on adult obesity of class at age 7 y among women, nor of class at birth among men, while class at age 23 y reduced to borderline significance. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional associations for social class and obesity can be misleading and obscure effects of childhood socioeconomic conditions. Influences around birth to age 7 y have a long-lasting impact on the risk of adult obesity.

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Section: Social Conditions In Childhoodsupporting

confidence: 82%

Child to adult socioeconomic conditions and obesity in a national cohort

2003

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“…For 7 and 16 y cut-offs for BMI de®ned similar proportions to those obtained for relative weight 33,34 (Table 1). Odds ratios were derived by exponentiating the parameter estimates b, using females of normal weight as the reference category.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 65%

Women's reproductive health: the role of body mass index in early and adult life

Lake¹,

Power²,

1997

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BACKGROUND: Higher risks of menstrual problems and infertility have been found in underweight and overweight women but evidence is inconsistent especially in relation to the effect of age of onset of obesity. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether body mass index (BMI) in adulthood or childhood affects the reproductive health of women. METHODS: Heights, weights (at 7, 11, 16, 23 and 33 y) and reproductive data were available for 5799 females in the 1958 British birth cohort study. Body mass index (BMI) was calculated as weight/height 2 . Age-speci®c cut-offs were used to de®ne overweight and obesity. Reproductive outcomes reported at age 33 included: menstrual problems (also reported at 16 y), hypertension in pregnancy and subfertility. RESULTS: Early menarcheal age was associated with higher risks of menstrual problems by 16 y but this relationship did not persist to 33 y. Obesity at 23 y and obesity at 7 y both independently increased the risk of menstrual problems by age 33 (OR 1.75, OR 1.59 respectively) after adjusting for other confounding factors. Obesity at 23 y increased the risk of hypertension in pregnancy (OR 2.37), after adjusting for confounders. Consistent with these ®ndings, obese women at 23 y were less likely to conceive within 12 months of unprotected intercourse after adjustment for confounders (RR 0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Overweight and obesity in early adulthood appears to increase the risk of menstrual problems, hypertension in pregnancy and subfertility. Other than menstrual problems, childhood body mass index had little impact on the reproductive health of women.

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“…There are differences in obesity prevalence between boys and girls, e.g. some studies conducted on British (8,17), Irish (18), Spanish (19), Swedish (20) and Turkish (21) sub-populations showed higher prevalence among girls, while the data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey (14,16) and studies conducted on Austrian (22), Italian (23) and Finish sub-populations (24) indicated the opposite trends. The reasons for this may include gender differences in food choices and dietary concerns (16).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%